Author: FOBM

The winter and spring weekends are a popular time for bike riders and cycling groups to enjoy the forest and prepare for races. All visitors are advised to be mindful of blind corners, travel speed, and the right-of-way courtesies in a multi-use trail system that we have on the right navigation bar of this site. As a reminder:

• Hikers and cyclists yield to equestrians. Horses are easily spooked, and it is advisable and proper etiquette to be quiet, calm, put aside your hiking sticks, and give a thousand-pound animal a wide berth.
• Cyclists yield to hikers, and should be mindful of their speed especially around blind corners. At the same time, hikers need to be aware that anything can come around a blind corner.
• Deer yield to cyclists. Ok, that was lame. We just wanted to give cyclists recognition for having to be the most gentle(wo)manly, and kudos to those who are working hard to excel at a sport, simply enjoying the outdoors, and/or exercising to trim those hibernation layers.

On Saturday, Nov. 10, the Friends of Boggs Mountain hosted a mushroom talk and walk for beginners, featuring Darvin DeShazer, Co-founder and Science Advisor of the Sonoma County Mycological Association, and Chairman of the Science Department at St. Vincent High School in Petaluma. Almost 50 forest visitors attended the brief talk, followed by a walk in the forest to find and hopefully, identify mushrooms.

New as well as seasoned mushroomers excitedly took off for the woods to see what they could find both on the ground and in the trees. Despite the meager rainfall this season, several mushrooms were found, in particular two diminutive yet fascinating Strobilurus species – delicate little white mushrooms that grow on pine cones.

On Sunday, Oct. 14, fifteen runners took part in the Boggs Mountain Boogie 50K individual or relay endurance run. The run started promptly at 8:30am under a brilliant cool sky, and participants had the option of doing the entire 50K (about 31 miles) individually or as a relay, as well as running just half the course. The run was organized by Kenny Brown of Heart & Sole Sports, that operates a retail store and training programs for runners in Santa Rosa.

Many thanks go to the volunteers who manned the aid stations and cheered on the runners as they huffed and puffed up and down the steep trails! The results are posted here.

Ken Stanton, author of Mount St. Helena & R.L. Stevenson State Park: A history and guide, Great Day Hikes In and Around Napa Valley, and Napa Valley Picnic: A California Wine Country Travel Companion, gave an informative and animated talk on hikes in the surrounding counties (Lake, Napa, and Colusa). Over forty attendees learned about lesser-known hiking trails, as well as historical highlights of those areas. He discussed the Blue Ridge trails (off Hwy 16), the Redbud Trail towards Wilson Valley (off Hwy 20), the Zim Zim Falls trail (off Knoxville-Berryessa Rd. which intersects Morgan Valley Rd. to the north and Pope Canyon Rd. in the south), the Baldy Mountain trail (accessible via Bear Valley Rd. or Walker Ridge Rd., both off Hwy. 20), and the Aetna Springs trail east of the Palisades (off Butts Canyon/Pope Valley Rd.).

The audience was treated to fascinating stories of settlers’ lives, of the once world-famous Bartlett Springs in the late 1800’s, as well as more recent anecdotes when outdoor enthusiasts and historians like Ken fought to ensure that access to places such as Table Rock and the Palisades were opened up for public enjoyment and recreation.

Ken also passed around a binder with historical photographs of towns and settlers in the area, but for more details and pictures, his book (written in an engaging style) Mount St. Helena & R.L. Stevenson State Park: A history and guide, is an invaluable guide not just on the history, but also on the geology, flora and fauna of the area. The talk concluded with a walk along the Interpretive Trail.

Many thanks to Ken for sharing his knowledge of the history as well as locations of those tucked-away hiking destinations. We are thankful to him, the volunteers, and officials who have heightened public awareness and access to these beautiful spots!